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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27269839">the tragedy of this world</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuddenWhispers/pseuds/SuddenWhispers'>SuddenWhispers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Daydreaming, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:42:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27269839</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuddenWhispers/pseuds/SuddenWhispers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Peculiarity Zine. A character study and explanation to why Linhardt von Hevring's in-game ability is "Catnap."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Peculiarity: FE Small Writer Zine</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the tragedy of this world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>If it's not clear, my favorite FE3H character is Linhardt. Please enjoy this short, introspective piece!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span><em>“the tragedy of this world”</em> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Linhardt does not sleep to escape reality. He prefers to think of it as a form of brainstorming in which he can dream up a future worth being awake for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trees in the monastery courtyard have grown quite a bit in the years since he was a student. Their leaves fan out into a canopy and provide just enough shade for him to take his catnap. Surely if anyone were to spot him lounging around in the open in the middle of wartime, he would be dragged by his feet back to the table to discuss their next strategic move. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But today, he is lucky, for he is left undisturbed and able to fall into a slumber full of dreams. His dreams, however, are not as pleasant as he would have hoped them to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He dreams of the sun on his back, scorching and searing through heavy armor that he often wore as a child during daily sword practice with his father. Sweat beads at his forehead and steam rises from his soaked clothing. Linhardt dreads how uncomfortable this position makes him. But he cannot deny his father, the man who controls the entirety of the internal affairs of the Empire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come at me, son!” His father demands. But Linhardt’s feet move in unsteady strides until he trips from the sheer weight of his armor and falls flat on his stomach. His father shakes his head and spares little effort in his words. “Tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once his father is out of sight, Linhardt tears his armor off, each piece falling to the ground with a hardy thud, and sprawls beneath the lonely apple tree in the open courtyard. He closes his eyes, feeling the wind breath beneath his damp clothes and sighs a breath of relief. Time in the shade is the only reprieve he earns for suffering beneath the sun. But Linhardt wants more than that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What he really wants is to be able to bury his head into the book he was reading last night and read until his eyes cross. He would like nothing more than to sear the words and images from the text into his brain until his candles burn through the wax. He needs to be able to chant such wondrous magic into existence, create fire in front of his eyes and watch as it dazzles and not just dream about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What he</span>
  <em>
    <span> doesn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>want is to be put to arms against neighboring countries. He doesn’t want to ever hold a sword against another human being and watch the life bleed out of them. Such is the tragedy of this world, to have humans re-live such history again and again, unaware that the future they fight for is one and the same . </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With magic, the possibilities are endless. The future he used to dread is now so bright and expansive that it almost scares him. But with the war, he has gone back to living day by day, wondering if every day will be their last.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Linhardt’s eyes fly open, white spilling through his peripheral vision. When his vision settles and heartbeat slows, he shakes his head. “It’s just a dream,” he has to tell himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Above him, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Its petals gently glide off the stem, cascading into sheets of pink before his eyes to decorate the sky. Linhardt holds his breath. How wonderful it would be if everyone could stop fighting and enjoy life’s wonders like this, he wishes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Linhardt closes his eyes and smiles. It doesn’t matter whether his last day is tomorrow or in fifty years. So long as he has that dream to hold on to, the future he longs for will arrive without fail. </span>
</p>
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